S.F. hitters eager to face Strasburg

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, July 8, 2010

Giants hitters are not exactly in a tizzy over Friday night's date with all-everything Stephen Strasburg in Washington, but as Aaron Rowand said, "I've heard his name a couple of times."

Still 12 days shy of his 22nd birthday, the flame-throwing right-hander has struck out 53 of the 147 batters he has faced, beginning with his 14-strikeout debut against Pittsburgh on June 8.

He has good command of a variety of pitches for one so young, but he can be had. He has allowed five earned runs in 11 1/3 innings over his two most recent starts against Atlanta and New York.

"I hope I get the draw that night so I can see what all the hype is about," left fielder Pat Burrell said. "It's very rare that with all the media hype and expectations he's gotten, to be able to come up and back it up."

Rowand said that with the hype and Strasburg's success, "everybody wants to see it in person. Everyone is looking forward to the challenge."

The walk-off: Burrell is close with two Giants whose night he ruined May 2, 2008. The Giants were one strike from a 5-4 victory at Philadelphia when Burrell hit a two-run homer off Brian Wilson for a 6-5 Phillies victory.

Besides dealing Wilson a blown save and loss, Burrell also stole the thunder from Rowand, who hit a go-ahead homer in the top of the 10th for what would have been a triumphant blow in his return to his old home park.

Wilson, asked how many times Burrell would take him deep in 100 at-bats, said, "Probably none. I'd hit him 99 times."

Ford arrested: Double-A speedster Darren Ford, a star in spring training, turned himself into police in New Jersey on charges of theft, filing a false police report and other charges, the Journal newspaper reported.

The arrest stems from an incident over the winter in which Ford reported he was robbed as he was carrying money to a bank from a car dealership that employed him.